TimBL invented both the World Wide Web and HTML to solve a practical problem
Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented both the World Wide Web (WWW) and HTML while working at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, Switzerland. The interesting story is that he created it to solve a practical problem.
Scientists at CERN needed a better way to share information and documents with each other. At the time, computers at CERN were connected, but sharing information was complicated and inconsistent.
Here's what Tim created:
• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) - the language to create documents
• HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) - the protocol for transmitting data
• URLs (Universal Resource Locators) - the addressing system for documents
• The first web browser and web server software
What's particularly remarkable is that he and CERN decided to make the World Wide Web available for anyone to use for free, without royalties. On April 30, 1993, CERN released the WWW technology into the public domain. This decision was crucial in allowing the web to grow into what it is today.
Tim Berners-Lee is still active in web development and advocacy. He founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which develops web standards, and he's been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (hence the "Sir"). He's also been a strong advocate for net neutrality and web privacy.
An interesting quote from him about his invention: "The Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past."